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I have been blogging on WordPress for a few years now and to be honest have found it a little bit of a struggle. I cannot afford to pay for my blog therefore am only able to use the free version of WordPress which is a nightmare to use and nearly impossible to get it to look how you want it.

Therefore this blog is being moved over to Blogger and is getting a new look and a new title!!!

From today you will be unable to contact me via this blog so if you want me to look at your book please contact me there.

Thanks for all your support and help over the years, I hope you will continue to read the blog and maybe even give me a follow.

A free copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

For Shay Appleton, it’s love at first sight when a gorgeous stray dog is brought into the animal shelter where she works. She just knows he’ll make a terrific watch dog—and with an abusive ex who won’t let go, she needs all the protection she can get. But Shay never suspected that her new pet is actually a trained police K-9 named Bogart—until Bogart’s even more gorgeous, human partner shows up on her doorstep.

Officer James Cannon is one tall, strong alpha male who’s convinced that Shay stole his dog. But once he gets closer to the suspect, he realizes that this stubborn, independent woman not only needs a guard dog, she needs James as well. It seems that someone from her past is stalking her, and threatening her life. When danger meets desire, will James risk his career and his best friend…to protect the woman who’s stolen his heart?

Irresistible Force by D.D Ayres is the first book in the K-9 Rescue series and is D.D Ayres first full length novel. I wasn’t expecting much from it, I never do with debuts, but the story looked good and I really like dogs so I was quite looking forward to this. Overall it wasn’t a bad book but I did have some problems with it, the most notable being that it went a little over the top and didn’t quite know when to stop.

The writing was good and I noticed no major issues or mistakes. It wasn’t the most detailed or beautiful prose of all time but I had no problem following it or envisioning the world the author built.

It was the plot where things went a little wrong for me. It started as a misunderstanding between the two main characters James and Shay over a dog and the issues Shay was having with her ex-boyfriend who was abusive. The growing relationship between the two of them and the problem of the ex would have been enough. Instead it spiralled into madness and I couldn’t keep up with it. It was all a little bit far-fetched especially where Shay was concerned. There were numerous sexual assaults, numerous threats of sexual assault, numerous stalkers (how many stalkers can one person have?), and numerous issues with the police. It was just all over the place and I quickly lost interest as it become more and more unbelievable.

The characters weren’t much better. Shay was all over the place, one minute she was strong and stood up for herself, the next she wouldn’t say boo to a goose and was emotional. It was almost as though the author couldn’t make up her mind if she wanted someone to save Shay or for Shay to save herself. James was a little more stable but I wasn’t overly fond of him either. He was alright, I didn’t like him in the beginning and that bad feeling lingered.

I didn’t get much from the romance either, it moved a little quickly and I wasn’t sure about Shay and James as an item. What I did love was the relationship they each shared with Bogart the dog. He was a great character and his interactions were some of the best in the book.

Irresistible Force is not a bad book and there are sure to be many who enjoy its drama but it was all a little too much for me.

A free copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Trainer and martial artist Rosie Miller’s zen is seriously compromised when Hunter Black—her former coach and lover—becomes her new boss. And with all the sexual energy still crackling between them, her poor little zen doesn’t stand a chance. So this time, Rosie is determined to play by her rules….

I am a big romance reader but I am the first to admit that they are not always very relatable or believable. But then just occasionally a romance book comes along that is those things and Burned is one of them. It could have been about me, or you, or any of us really. It is a book about two adults struggling to figure out their feelings for one another. No drama. No angst. Just a romance that could happen to any of us.

Burned works because of its characters. Hunter and Rosie are pretty normal in comparison to many other romantic leads out there. They were in a relationship when they were teens that fell apart, there was no torrid affairs, interfering families, or dramatic misunderstandings to blame. Instead it was the characters fears and insecurities that drove the relationship to end. Years later they find each other again and realise the chemistry is still there but are unsure if a relationship would ever work.

I cannot tell you how refreshing it is to read about two normal, average human beings. It was just so nice not to have all the drama but instead read about how their feels change and adapt to what is happening between them. It was sweet, cute and true, I really enjoyed the change of pace and the normality of it all.

Both characters are lovely but Rosie is particularly great. She is funny and cute but lets her insecurities get the better of her sometimes. Normally that is something that annoys me in a female character but Rosie is aware it’s a problem and she works around it. I also really liked Hunter but because there was no POV from him I felt like I didn’t know him all that well. Normally I don’t mind a single POV but in this book I think it would have worked better if both of them had a say.

Burned is a great book that I would recommend to Romance lovers. I don’t think you will be disappointed in this little jem.

A Seductive Nighttime World. . . Dr. Emily Drake’s psychotherapy patients tend to be a little unusual. Instead of midlife crises and mother fixations, Emily treats vampires with blood phobias and sex-demons looking for meaningful relationships. But healing these powerful beings requires an important rule: Never trust a shifter. Especially not one like Detective Colin Gyth, whose gold-flecked eyes and predatory air make Emily realize how much she longs to lose control. . .

A Dark And Dangerous Hunger. . .

Colin can’t believe the doctor he has to work with on the Night Butcher murder case is the one person who could expose his true identity as a wolf shifter. Smart and sexy, Emily brings out the alpha male in Colin, unleashing a wild desire that takes them both over the edge. . . But in the shadows, the Night Butcher waits, eager to spill Emily’s blood and taste her terror. And he’ll use any means to destroy her, including the one person she has grown to trust. . .

Generally speaking I quite like Cynthia Eden books so I was expecting quite a lot from Hotter After Midnight. I did enjoy this book and finished it in a couple of afternoons but for me this wasn’t as good as some of the authors other work.

In terms of writing this was good. I have always liked Eden’s style and that didn’t change here. Like her other books this is an easy read to get into and I found the hours sliding away without really noticing.

The story itself was good and I liked the mix of the murder mystery and paranormal romance genres. What let this book down was the fact that it didn’t always make sense. There were a dew plot holes and some moments that didn’t seem necessary. For example the introduction of Emily’s mother and the implication (which comes from both the mother and other places) that Emily is evil served no real purpose. I thought it might be an attempt to implicate Emily as a suspect and make Colin second guess his feelings for her but in the end nothing came of it. Another example is mating which at the mid-way point seemed like a big deal but again it eventually came to nothing.

The characters were likeable but typical for this kind of book. Emily was a little too stubborn and Colin a little too alpha. Together they were good and there was no shortage of chemistry but it lacked any emotional impact.

This book wasn’t perfect and is not the best I have read from this author but I did enjoy it and I will read more from this series.

A free copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

To Catch a Thief, It Will Take a Thief

He comes from a long line of charismatic jewel thieves. But Gianni Coretti made a deal to save his family and now walks the straight and narrow. When Marie O’Hara, a beautiful security expert, asks him to steal for her as part of a sting, his interest is definitely piqued. The fact that she’ll be pretending to be his fiancée is an added bonus. But as their fierce attraction blurs the line between ruse and reality, Gianni has to wonder: does a man with such a dubious past deserve a glorious future with this woman?

The Fiancée Caper is the kind of book I like to sit down and waste a few hours with. It is not the type of book I expect to think hard about or to invest a lot of emotional energy in. That being said I do expect great characters and heart stopping romance, both of which didn’t quite work for me here.

I have only read one of Maureen Child’s books before (Gilded Secrets) but I appeared to have the same problem with both that and The Fiancée Caper. There was just not enough development for me in terms of the characters and the romance for me to truly fall in love with this one. The writing was fairly solid and there is nothing wrong with the way Childs puts words on the page.

The story was interesting and fun but I couldn’t really relate to any of the characters. Gianni was a little too arrogant for my taste and Marie was borderline annoying. She was guilty of one of my pet peeves in romances. She is too scared to tell Gianni he loves him and instead of thinking he might have the same fears dramatically flounces off because he hasn’t told her he loves her. Despite that there was definitely chemistry between them which I enjoyed. I could see the attraction and desire but not the love which was a shame.

I didn’t hate The Fiancée Caper, it was a good enough read but I ended up wanting a little more.

A free copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

In the line of fire…

OPERATION SHADOW WARRIORS

An ongoing U.S. military experiment to test the integration of trained female military operatives in live combat scenarios…

The Alpha Platoon. A unit of Navy SEALs stationed in the unforgiving dryness of Afghanistan…who just learned that their newest team member is a woman. But Bay Thorn has a spine of steel—and the chops to prove it. Without a team to back her up, however, she’s dead in the water. And her only ally is Gabe Griffin, a lone SEAL who is lethal, dangerous and unbearably attractive….

Between the open hostility from her team and the harsh Al Qaeda territory, Gabe is a lifeline for Bay. But mutual respect quickly grows into mutual attraction. And with each day and every assignment, the longing only deepens.

They mustn’t speak of it. Mustn’t act on it. Because in this line of work, falling in love can get you killed.

I have a lot to say about this book so this might get a little long. Also in order to get my point across there may also be a few spoilers too so consider yourself warned.

I firmly believe that woman in the military should be able to fight on the front line. I believe passionately that they would as good as men in a war situation. (I am in the process of joining the military so I know a little about it). For that reason I wanted to read this book, the blurb made it sound like Bay Thorn (The main character) would be on the front line in Afghanistan fighting not only against the bad guys but against a sexist system that believes woman are not capable of handling combat situations. I wanted to see her struggles, I wanted to see her be strong. Apparently I wanted too much.

In the end I didn’t get what I wanted. If I am honest I felt this was a bit of a mess and it was impossible to take seriously.

Firstly the writing was not up to par for a modern day romance. I felt the military talk was great but when it came to the romance it got cheesy and beyond old fashioned. The way the two main characters spoke about their feelings to one another was enough to make me laugh out loud. They couldn’t just sit down like a normal couple instead that had to explain how they made each other feel all the time. It was horrible and it sounded like it belonged in a 1980s mills and boons book.

Secondly the main character was irritating. Bay Thorn is perfection personified she can do no wrong and everyone loves her. In fact I think everyone was put on Earth just to gush about how glorious she is. I loved the way she just strolled into the Navy SEALs and was better than everyone else at everything. She can even out shoot a trained sniper in a shooting competition because her daddy taught her how to hunt. It isn’t always plain sailing, some of the men have some reservations about her being there which to be honest is understandable. But everything turns out ok because Bay gives them cookies, thank god for baked goods. I am surprised she didn’t hand them out in gun fights to tame the enemy. Bay is a fighter, a healer, a natural nurturer. She is hot and down to earth and loyal and everyone thinks the sun shines out of her behind. It was just too much for me I needed her to be tough, to be a dirty fighter and prove to everyone that she had as much right to be there as anyone else. I wanted the journey to be harder than what it was because that is realistic. Instead I got fluff.

The romance suffered because of Bay’s Mary Sue-ness. How Gabe was able to form a sentence in her presence is beyond me. He is so besotted with her I am surprised he could function around her. His only purpose in the whole book was to remind all the readers how fantastic she is. He didn’t do much else to be honest and because of that I couldn’t connect to him at all.

It isn’t all bad news the action scenes were great and I wish there had been more of them. Lindsay McKenna is really good at creating pulse pounding action scenes. There was a helicopter crash that was just fantastic and proved that beneath the cheesy dialogue and Mary Sue characters McKenna is capable of producing some high class writing. The problem is there wasn’t enough moments like these to really make an impact for me.

Although it has nothing to do with the review for this book I have to talk briefly about its follow up. I have heard that the next book in the series is going to feature the same characters again and that Bay will be taken hostage, raped, tortured and then lose her memory. I think this is the worse idea ever not because it’s hard but because I don’t think it is needed. These books would have been great if they had been about the struggle woman face on the front line in the military, isn’t that enough? I get fed up of author’s resorting to rape and violence when they want their female characters to go through a hard time or for a romance to be tested. There was an opportunity to do a lot more with a story like this and I am sad that rape is the way the author has chosen to go.

Breaking Point had some good and bad moments but overall it wasn’t for me.

From the moment vampire bounty-hunter Rex Serano meets sexy shifter Margery, he’s smitten. When the alpha of the Kincaid pack asks him to join with them, he’s stunned by the offer, but the real draw is the beautiful, caring female who seems to want nothing to do with him.

Margery is the driving maternal force for her pack and she has one rule: she doesn’t date vampires. Years ago she was nearly killed by rogue vamps and she has no interest in getting involved with one now. No matter how sexy a certain, persistent bounty hunter might be.

When one of Rex’s hunts gets messy, Margery gets caught in the crossfire and he’ll do whatever it takes to protect her. They might be different species but the mating call is undeniable and too strong to ignore. Now they must find a way to reach common ground and trust their instincts if they’re going to fight for a future together.

Generally speaking I like novella’s, they are nice, short reads that are great if you have just finished something a little heavy. Despite liking novellas I will be the first to admit there are often problems with them. Sometimes they feel rushed or something may seem missing, writing a novella of decent quality is hard work because you have such little room to play with.

For the most part Savannah Stuart gets it right with Saving his Mate. The story is well constructed and well written and I felt there was a good beginning, middle and end. Plot is something that can get lost in a romantic novella but Stuart managed to get a nice balance of the two.

Something had to give and unfortunately that ended up being the characters. They were a little bland and lacked any real personality. Stuart has expertly managed to squeeze everything into 144 pages but that meant there was no room to really explore what made Rex and Margery tick. Despite that this is a still an enjoyable novella that Paranormal romance fans will probably enjoy. It is enough to make sure I check out the other books in the series and other, hopefully longer, books from this author.